I am from
waking up at 5 a.m.
and making my dad pour me a glass
of chocolate milk and put in
the Tom & Jerry VCR tape.
I am from
the years spent on stage
performing, acting, dancing,
making music from the keys and strings of instruments
that I have since abandoned.
I am from
the technology that shaped me,
which I cannot live without-
the shows and movies and games; staying up,
the bright screen of my laptop glaring against the darkness of my room.
I am from
crying until my eyes are red and raw,
happy and sad and laughing tears
from the deaths and lives and breakups and reunions
of the characters and shows I will never forget.
I am from
lying in my bed
listening to the music that has healed me,
blaring in my ears
and against the four walls that enclose me.
I am from
the places I’ve been-
from La Jolla to Lancaster to Boston and Nanjing,
to the places I wish to go-
from Sydney to Quebec to Venice and Chicago.
I am from
homework and studying and tests,
and homework and studying and tests.
Yearning for college since middle school,
to be around people who crave knowledge, too.
I am from
Modus Ponens and Modus Tollens and Disjunctive Syllogism,
and memorizing fallacies and philosophy arguments at 8 a.m.,
the course that challenged me beyond my limits,
the course that introduced me to my favorite place in the world.
I am from
my home away from home-
lying on the grass of the quad,
dancing beneath the stars
to the Canon, the soundtrack of my youth.
I am from
the memories I hold
within polaroids and photos behind screens,
within songs and books and between the lines
of the poems that I have bled from my heart onto paper.
I am from
my previous and continuing attempts to escape this town,
and the meaningless interactions within the cold halls of highschool;
trying to find the people who will become my people
and the places I will call home.
j.z.
Oct 12, 2015
Oct 12, 2015 at 11:48 AM UTC
I am from
waking up at 5 a.m.
and making my dad pour me a glass
of chocolate milk and put in
the Tom & Jerry VCR tape.
I am from
the years spent on stage
performing, acting, dancing,
making music from the keys and strings of instruments
that I have since abandoned.
I am from
the technology that shaped me,
which I cannot live without-
the shows and movies and games; staying up,
the bright screen of my laptop glaring against the darkness of my room.
I am from
crying until my eyes are red and raw,
happy and sad and laughing tears
from the deaths and lives and breakups and reunions
of the characters and shows I will never forget.
I am from
lying in my bed
listening to the music that has healed me,
blaring in my ears
and against the four walls that enclose me.
I am from
the places I’ve been-
from La Jolla to Lancaster to Boston and Nanjing,
to the places I wish to go-
from Sydney to Quebec to Venice and Chicago.
I am from
homework and studying and tests,
and homework and studying and tests.
Yearning for college since middle school,
to be around people who crave knowledge, too.
I am from
Modus Ponens and Modus Tollens and Disjunctive Syllogism,
and memorizing fallacies and philosophy arguments at 8 a.m.,
the course that challenged me beyond my limits,
the course that introduced me to my favorite place in the world.
I am from
my home away from home-
lying on the grass of the quad,
dancing beneath the stars
to the Canon, the soundtrack of my youth.
I am from
the memories I hold
within polaroids and photos behind screens,
within songs and books and between the lines
of the poems that I have bled from my heart onto paper.
I am from
my previous and continuing attempts to escape this town,
and the meaningless interactions within the cold halls of highschool;
trying to find the people who will become my people
and the places I will call home.
j.z.
"I am from..." poem